European Security Beyond Europe

As Europe faces multiple conventional and unconventional threats and challenges, this project explores the emergence of ad hoc cooperation amongst European states for the provision of shared security and the promotion of broader, global defence objectives.




Ministerie van Defensie / SGT Aaron Zwaal


European security is undergoing a period of transformation, driven by major shifts in the international political and economic order which are coupled with changes within the continent, most notably the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union in 2020.

Whilst governments remain preoccupied with the shape and organisation of European security, nations have developed ad hoc military and security initiatives beyond their continent. These operations appear to point the way to more pragmatic forms of European cooperation, in which nations can operate together for shared security and defence goals in key regions around the world.

This cooperation could add a new dimension to Europe’s ability to adapt to changing international security agendas and help to build confidence in Europe’s evolving security architecture. At the same time, there are important questions about the scope and sustainability of such initiatives, and how these may fit into an overarching framework of European security cooperation.

Ministerie van Defensie / SGT Aaron Zwaal

Aims and objectives

The project will seek to:

  • map emerging European security cooperation beyond the remits of the continent;
  • identify the drivers behind the new European security cooperation;
  • consider lessons learnt;
  • analyse how military cooperation outside Europe can further develop to enable a more effective and global European engagement;
  • identify how global European security cooperation instances feed into debates within Europe about the future of continent-wide arrangements.

Support by

  • Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

    This project is made possible with support from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Project outputs


Access the research outputs of this project.

Ad-Hoc European Military Cooperation Outside Europe
Global Security Briefing Podcasts

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